Follower for card drawers or the like



Jan. 23, 1940.

FOLLOWEB FOR CARD D RAWERS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 19, 1938 INVENTOR.

. hf LINK.

V ATTORNEYS.

F. w. LINK v 2,187,832

Patented Jan. 23, 1940 uNlTEo sT-Ari:

Application December 1 2 Claims.

This invention relates to followers of the type generally used in connection with card index drawers, although the follower construction is applicable to any type of drawer or case in which it is desired to use a follower. This follower will be described herein in connection with a drawer of the type having a. longitudinal rod, adapted for use with index cards having a perforated tab extending from the bottoms thereof.

Followers of the general class outlined above must look with the case or drawer in any position in which they may be placed, and yet must be capable of adjustment drawer. For this purpose it vide some readily releasable locking arrangement. Various such arrangements are-known in the ant, and it is an object of this invention to provide one such arrangement which will embody numerous advantages. 1

The objects of my invention, generally speaking, include the' provision. of a novel follower construction in which a minimum of separate parts are used, in which the individual parts are of simple construction and may be easily assembled, and the provision of such a construction which will be very inexpensive to manufacture, but which will nevertheless satisfy to a high degree the demands of commercial use.

These and other objects of the invention which will be described in more detail hereinafter, or which will be apparentto one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certainconstruction and arrangement of parts, of which I shall now. describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is now made to the drawing forming a part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away for clarity of illustration, of a drawer and a follower therein; v

Fig. 2 is across-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; i i

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, taken from the rear, of the follower plate; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the locking lever.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, 1 provide adrawer of conventional construction, provided with a central, longitudinal groove ll, along which extends a rod I2. Means (not shown) are provided whereby the rod 12 may be removed so that the cards for that purpose perforated tabs to receive the I. within the groove H.

being, provided with rod 12 and fit longitudinally of the is necessary to procards may be threaded thereon,

5 PATENT OFFlCEf i THE ' Forest L. W. Link, Silverton, Ohio, assignor toThe Globe-Wernicke Company, corporation of Ohio Norwood, Ohio, a

9, 1938, Serial'No. 246,584

(Cl. 1 29-30) The-follower itself I prefer to make from only three pieces: the follower plate l3, the locking lever l4, and the spring I5. The plate I3 is generally of the shape of the cards carried in the drawer. It is provided withv a tab portion l6 having a l perforation I! to receive the rod l2, and maybe provided with a formed'thumb grip portion 18. In order to maintain itin erect position, 1, provide it with what I shall term an outrigger element-IQ. As will readily be seen from Fig. '4, l the element I9 is formed by striking out from" the body of, the plate l3 an inverted T shaped portion and bending it rearwardly about its lower' edge. The horizontal element of'the said T shaped portion extends horizontally rearward, and'the downwardly extending element 2| is bent downwardly at an angle, and the terminal vertical portion Zia thereof is bent to be substantially parallel to the plate l3. The portion flu is perforated at Zlb to receive the rod l2, and 0 the portions 20 and 2! are strengthened by means of the formed up ribs 20a. The perforations l1 and 2") are somewhat oversize with reference to the rod 12 sothat the plate l3 with its outrigger [9, may easily slide back and forth along the rod l2. i l

The locking lever consists of a flat piece having at its lower end a projecting tab 14a similar in size and shape to the tab I6 on the plate l3,

and the tab Ma is similarly perforated at Mix A slot I40 is provided, said slot corresponding in shape to a cross-section through the portion 2| of the outrigger.

The respective parts are assembled on the rod l2 as best seen in Fig. 3 with the spring [5 sur- 35 rounding the rod' between the outrigger portion 2|a and the locking lever tab Ma. It will be clear from a consideration of Fig. 3 that the locking lever [4 may pivot about the line 22 on the outrigger, and is urged in a clockwise direction by the spring [5 so that the lower edge of theperforation Mb binds against the rod 12, locking the follower against movement in the drawer. In order to release the follower it is only necessary to locking lever l4 and the thumb grip l8 between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, thereby rocking the locking lever l4 counterclockwise against the spring 15 to a generally vertical position where the perforation Mb no longer binds against the rod 12. The follower may then be shifted to any desired position.

The parts are preferably made of sheet metal, although other materials may be used. Likewise the plate and outrigger might be made separately. u

grasp the upper end of the It will be readily understood that various modifications will present themselves to the man skilled in the art and that such modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do not intend to limit myself otherwise than as pointed out in the claims which follow.

Having now fully described my invention, What I believe to be new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is:

1. A follower for a filing drawer having a longitudinal rod, comprising a follower plate having a rod receiving aperture, an inverted T- shaped portion struck out from said plate and bent rearwardly and the leg portion of said T- shaped portion being bent downwardly to form an outrigger, a rod receiving aperture in said outrigger, and a locking lever havin a rod receiving aperture and a slot therein, said slot being of a width to accommodate only said leg portion and being thereby pivoted against the head of said T-shaped portion, and means urging said lever to a non-vertical position whereby to cause the rod receiving aperture to bind against said rod.

2. A follower for a filing drawer having a longitudinal rod, comprising a follower plate having a rod receiving aperture, an inverted T- shaped portion struck out from said plate and bent rearwardly and the leg portion of said T- shaped portion being bent downwardly to form an outrigger, a rod receiving aperture in said outrigger, said outrigger having a rib formed therein, and a locking lever having a rod receiving aperture and a slot therein, said slot having a portion to accommodate said rib and being of a width to accommodate only said leg portion and being thereby pivoted against the head of said T-shaped portion, and means urging said lever to a non-vertical position whereby to cause said rod receiving apertiu'e to bind against said rod.

FOREST L. W. LINK. 

